Violin case cover



Feb. 10, 1953 Filed June 20, 1949 B. BECKER 2,627,887

VIOLIN CASE COVER 2 SI-lEETS-Sl-1EET l INVENTOR.

Feb. 10, 1953 B. BECKER 2,627,887

VIOLIN CASE COVER Filed June 20, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR BRONY BEC K E R BY 07% 2. M

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE-I,

VIOLIN CASE COVER Brony Becker, New York, N. Y.

Application June 20, 1949, Serial No. 100,122

Claims. 1

vMy invention relates to a new and useful improvement in an article of manufacture, namely in protective covers for suitcases and especially for cases for musical instruments, like violin cases and the like.

Most of those protective covers are slipped over a case and closed on top by a slide fastener. The latter can however be closed up to the projecting handle of the case only and thus usually two slide fasteners, one at the left and one at the right are used, to close the cover up to the handle, but leave the space below the same open. A fiap, attached at one edge or side of the cover at the correct place, fitting under the handle, usually hides and covers this open slot in the cover.

. Suitcases are made mostly in certain predetermined sizes with the handles arranged at the longitudinal center. Thus covers made for that particular known size will have the flap automatically at the correct spot and dealers can carry such protective covers in stock knowing the flap will always fit under the handle.

However cases for musical instruments, particularly violin cases do not, as a rule, have their handles at the same position even if a case is of v the same size. There may be differences of a few inches in the locations of the handles, mostly due to particularly preferred shapes of the cases, so as to balance the weights. For suchcases dealers are either forced to carry in stock a number of various covers or they must order a specially made cover, indicating the correct position of the handle-of the violin case where it will project through the cover, so that the permanently attached flap can be fastened in the proper position.

The main object of the invention is, to obviate the necessity of making special case covers, by providing a protective case cover with a movable flap which can be moved to the right or to the left and thus always be placed exactly under a handle, even if the same is positioned more towards one end of the case or towards the other. Usually this difference is a few inches only. A further object of my invention is to enable dealers to carry covers for different musical instrument cases, and particularly for violin cases, in stock for immediate delivery, in which the said flap can always be placed under the projecting handle, by simply sliding the flap to its correct position.

While my invention is thus of a very simple nature and construction, many and various modifications thereof are feasible without departing from the spirit of my ideas and invention, which involves use of a slidably mounted flap that can be moved longitudinally of the enclosed case to the proper position under the handle tocover and protect the open space or slit below-the handle. The flap is slidably mounted on the protective cover at one side of the main openingin the cover and provision is made of meansfor detachably fastening the flap to the cover at the other side of said main opening. This fastening means may include two cooperating parts, one fixed on the flap and the other slidably mounted on the cover for movement to positions corresponding to that of the flap,

My invention is of particular value for violin cases which do not have handles in exactly the same places due to the curvature of the cases and consequent displacement of the point of balance. I am illustrating a preferred form of my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of aviolin case cover embodying my invention; i I

Fig. 2 is a larger scale view of the central part of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on a larger scale taken through line 33 of Fig. 2; and f i Fig. 4 is a. fragmentary top plan view illus-i trating a button mounted on a double slidefastener device. v

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l v.designates the body of the violin case cover which may be made of flexible, waterproof material la; and closed on top around the violin-case by fastener means comprising two slides 2 and 2a mounted on two lines of fastener elements 3 and 4. It is evident that both slides can be pulled only so far as to engage the handle 5 of the. case, projectin through the fastener elements 3 and 4 as shown. Thus the short length corre-. sponding to the length of the handle remains open and exposed. To cover the vacant space there is provided a flap 6 which passes under the handle 5 and may be held in closed position as by snap fastener means. Inasmuch as the handles on violin cases are often at different positions my invention provides movable or slidable covering flaps Band means to keep them in closed position.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention I mount the flap 6 slidably on a line of fastener element 1 so that it can be positioned directly under the handle 5 at any time and provide said flap 6 at its free edge with a snapper socket or socket member 8. Said fastener element 1 is attached to one edge of a flexible strip in. of which the other edge is attached to material la at its inner side. To secure the flap in closed position use is made of a slidable device carrying a button 9 to snap into and be secured in said socket 8. In the form illustrated said button 9 is fixed on the outer end of a pin l extending through a slot II in the material la (Fig. 2) and through a slide [2 at the inner surface of the material la. Said slide i2 is connected at its ends to two fastener slides 13 which cooperate with two lines of fastener elements 14, which by use of flexible strips l4a are secured in a usual manner to reinforcing elements for the fabric la. Each line of fastener elements is secured to a strip of flexible material. In the case of lines of elements 3 and 4, the strips 3a and 4a to which they are attached, are secured to the opposite edge portions of the material la at their inner ends through strips 3a and I5 and 4a and la. In the case of the two rows of elements l4 the corresponding strips 14a are secured to the material la at its inner face by inner strips 15.

According to the illustrated embodiments of the invention, the flap 6 is formed of a piece of leather or other suitable material and its sliding and hinged connection with the adjacent edge of material la is by means of members I! in the form of loops each with an open end.

The closed end of each loop 11 extends loosely through slots at the hinge edge of flap 6 and the open end of each loop I! encloses the row of element 1 partially, but sufiiciently to prevent removal of the element 1 from the loops. This arrangement enables the flap 6 to be swung freely about its edge adjacent to element 4 and. to he slid along said row.

The various fastener slides may be held in position in a usual way by turning down pivoted flaps on said slides.

In order to use a cover I, it is while open placed around a suitable instrument. Then the fastener slides 2 and 2a are drawn inwardly by means of their usual pivoted flaps or finger pieces I8 until they engage the ends of handle 5. Then the finger pieces [8 are turned down to hold the slides in the desired positions.

Before drawing in the slides 2 and 2a into engagement with the ends of the handle, the flap 6 is brought to a position opposite the opening between the sides of the handle and passed therethrough. Then the slides 2 and 2a are drawn in to the sides of the handle. The free edge of the flap may then be secured to fastener elements 14 by shifting fastener slide 12 to the proper position, pressing down on the free edge of flap 6 to force the socket 8 and the button 9 into holding engagement.

Separation of the violin case and the protective cover may be effected by merely reversing such steps.

It should be understood that various changes may be made and that certain features may be used without others without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. The combination of a cover for a violin case having a handle, said cover having a longitudinal opening at its top, a line of slide-fastener elements at each edge of said opening and fastener slides to close said opening beyond the ends of said handle; with a flap to close the opening under said handle, a slidable connection between said flap and case cover at one side of said opening to enable proper positioning of the flap beneath the handle and means for detachably securing the flap to the case at the opposite side of said opening.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said slidable connection is also a hinge connection.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein there is a separate line of slide fastener elements, and said slidable connection comprises an open end loop with its closed end connected to said flap and its open end enclosing said separate line of fastener elements at that side of the opening so as to prevent removal while permitting sliding therealong.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the detachably-securing means comprises a device at the outside of said case, means for mounting the said device for sliding movement parallel to the adjacent edge of said opening, and cooperating means on said flap and said device for detachably connecting them together.

5. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the detachably securing means comprises two lines of fastener elements secured to said cover parallel to the adjacent edge of said opening, a fastener slide on said fastener elements, and cooperating means on said flap and said fastener slide to detachably connect them together.

BRONY BECKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,986,393 Geib Jan. 1, 1935 2,030,359 Dyer Feb. 11, 1936 2,030,360 Dyer Feb. 11, 1936 2,331,048 Schaaif Oct. 5, 1943 2,432,365 Allen Dec. 9, 1947 2,483,057 Levering Sept. 27, 1949 

